Press



Nov. 1 8, 1941 v w. H. NUTT 2,262,816

PRESS Filed June 13, 1939 a Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

w. H. NUTT Nov. 18, 1941.

PRESS Filed June 15, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTUF. WW WM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 W. H. NUTT PRESS Filed June 15, 1939 Nov. 18, 1941.

llllllllsll Patented Nov. 18, 1941 PRESS William H. Nutt, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 13, 1939, Serial No. 278,875

7 Claims.

This invention relates to presses and is herein illustrated as embodied in presses which are used in connection with freely movable dies to produce blanks such as shoe part blanks from sheet material.

Machines of the type referred to, among which are machines commonly known as sole cutters and clicking machines, are commonly of heavy construction in view of the fact that it frequently requires several tons pressure to force the dies through thick stock or through many plies of fabric. Many of such machines as heretofore constructed deliver heavy blows to the floors of the building in which they are operated and frequently set up vibrations which constitute a hazard to the building itself and which are annoying to the occupants. In View of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved press which will be effective in its pressure applying operations but which at the same time is so constructed that much of the vibration heretofore transmitted to the floor will be eliminated.

To this end, and as illustrated, the invention provides a press having presser members which during the pressure applying operation are moved toward each other through different distances depending upon their respective masses so that the inertia forces during the operation are substantially balanced. Preferably and as shown, the press comprises a cutting bed and a beam which are mounted for movement heightwise of the frame of the machine and are arranged to be moved simultaneously toward each other by means of eccentrics secured to a drive shaft.

The advantage of the construction above outlined is that the forces acting during the pressure applying operations are counterbalanced in the moving parts so that little force is transmitted from the floor. In addition to this, by moving the beam and bed toward each other simultaneously the cutting operation is speeded up with the result that the dies will penetrate sheet material more readily with less expenditure of energy. This contributes to accurate cutting and to the economy of operation of the machine.

These and other features of the invention are disclosed in the accompanying drawings, described in the following detailed specification, and are pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a clicking machine embodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lower portion of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines III-III of Fig. 2 illustrating a portion of the mechanism for raising the bed;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation partly in section illustrating a sole cutting machine embodying another form of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of means for guiding the bed; and

Fig. 6 is a view, partly in section, taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 4.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate my invention as applied to a clicking machine. As shown in Fig. 1 the machine comprises a frame [6, supported by three legs i 2 and having mounted thereon for heightwise movement a spindle I4 carrying a presser beam I6, there being a bed l8 cooperable with the beam to apply pressure to a cutting die, not shown, to force the same through sheet material which may be positioned upon a cutting block carried by the bed.

The spindle I4 is slidably mounted in bearings 22 and 24 forming extensions of the frame i0, and is arranged for reciprocation heightwise of ,the frame by means of a connecting rod 26 secured by a pin 28 to an eccentric 30 mounted upon a drive shaft 32.

The bed 18 normally rests upon a flat portion 34 of the frame but is arranged for movement heightwise thereof by means of a pair of levers 36 (Figs. 2 and 3), which are mounted upon pivots 38 carried by depending brackets 40 and 42. Each of the levers has two end portions 44 which are arranged to engage plungers 46 slidably mounted in the frame portion 34 and having upper end portions which extend into cavities 48 in the underside of the bed at each of the four corners thereof. The levers are secured together by a pin 50 which passes through their inwardly extending end portions 52 and 54 (Fig. 3). For operating the levers .I have provided a connecting rod 56, the upper end of which is connected to the pin 50 (Figs. 2 and 3) and the lower end of which engages an eccentric 58 on the drive shaft 32. Operation of the eccentric in pulling the connecting rod 56 downwardly will result in rocking the levers about their pivots 38 in a direction to move the end portions 44 upwardly and through the plungers 46 to raise the bed. It is to be noted that the lower ends of the plungers are curved as indicated at 60 so that contact with the end portions 44 is maintained during different angular positions thereof as the levers are rocked. It will be further noted that the inner ends of the levers 52 and 54 are provided with passages 62 and 64 of greater width than the diameter of the relative masses.

guideways 94 in the frame. ment of the bed relatively to the slides 92 is 'obtained by rotating the screw shafts -88.

-adjustment provides for variation of thestroke pin 50 which passes through them to permit variation in the effective length of the levers during their rocking movement.

The bed I8 has secured thereto guard plates 65 which extend downwardly to overlap the side portions of the frame portion 3 1 by a distance greater than the stroke of the bed. These plates are effective in preventing the operator from inserting his fingers between the bed and frame.

The drive shaft 32 is mounted in a bearing 65 on the frame It, the other end of the shaft being mounted in a bearing 63 carried by the depending bracket 42. Operation of the shaft is controlled by means of a one-revolution clutch I operable to connect the shaft with a flywheell2, there being a starting handle M, carried by the beam it, which operates through a link 73 and latch mechanism TI to trip the clutch.

In the operation of the machine, sheet material to be cut is placed upon the cutting block 20, a die is located upon the material and the presser arm is swung into position over the die. The starting handle "M is then tripped to cause a single rotation of the drive shaft 32 which,

' throughthe eccentrics 38 and 58, operates to 1 cause the presser arm I6 and thecutting block 20 to approach each other, thus to force the die through the material to produce ablank, after which the parts are returned to their original positions.

-In-order to balance the forces at the time pressure is applied to the work, the bed and presser arm are moved toward each other through distances which are inversely proportional to their The bed'preferably has about twice the mass of the arm. To compensate for theeifect of this difference in mass, the eccentric 30 has a throw whichwill result in moving the arm I6 downwardly about two-thirds of the combined strokes of the'arm and bed and the eccentric 58 has a throw effective tomove the bed I8 upwardly through about one-third of that distance. As a result of this the inertia forces of the arm and bed during a pressure applying operation will be substantially balanced, with the result that little or no pressure will be transmitted to the frame of the machine, thus elimi nating much of the vibration which would otherwise be transmitted to the floor. By reason of the fact that the arm and bed move toward each other simultaneously, the pressure I applying operation is accomplished in less time than. if only one of those memberswere moved at the same-speed. The increased rapidity of the operation increases materially the effectiveness of the dies used in forming blanks in that the dies more readily penetrate the material.

Fig. 4 illustrates another embodiment of my invention and shows a press which is particularly adapted for use with freely movable dies for cutting soles from sheet material such as leather. This machine comprises a frame-8f) on which are "mounted for movement heightwise of the frame screw shafts 88, the lower ends of which are positioned in recesses one of which is shown at 96 in a slide 92 (best shown in Fig. mounted in Heightwise adjust- This of the-bed to render'the bed operable for different iheig-h'ts of dies,

at opposite sides of the machine being connected to a crosshead I20.

Each crosshead carries a pin I22 to which is secured a connecting rod I24, the upper end of which engages an eccentric I26 on the shaft '56 adjacent to the eccentric 98. As the drive shaftSEiis rotated the connections just described cause'a reciprocation of the beam 84 heightwise of the frame. The relation of the eccentrics 98 and I26 is such that the beam 84 and the bed 82 are moved toward each other simultaneously through different distances, the beam being moved about two-thirds of the combined "stroke of the beam and bed and the bed being moved through one-third of that distance. Here again, the relative masses of the beam= and bed are such that the inertia forces thereof during the pressure applying operation substantially of the shaft t6 are almost in alinement with the result that the forces acting downwardly on the eccentrics $3 will be substantially balanced by the forces acting upwardlyon the eccentrics I26. The forces operating during the pressure applying operation will constitute a couple, acting in vertical planes extending through the eccentrics upon one side of the machine, which will be substantially balanced by a similar couple acting in vertical planes extending through the eccentrics on the other side of the machine, the principal strain in the parts being applied through that part of the shaft extending between the two eccentrics 98. Thus, since the inertia forces are substantially balanced in the moving parts, the effect of impact of the cutting block and beam upon a die and the material being operated upon will be negligible. As a result of this there is less tendency to wear in the bearingsof the shaft and a minimum of vibration is transmitted to the floor.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A press comprising a frame, a presser memberand a cutting bed member mounted on the frame for movements toward or away from each other, a drive shaft, connections between the drive shaft and the presser member and between the drive shaft and the cutting bed member for moving the members toward each other through distances inversely proportional to the masses of the members.

2.- A press comprising a frame, a presser member and, a cutting bed member mounted on the frame for movements toward or away from each other, a drive shaft, eccentrics mounted on the drive shaft, and connections between the drive shaft and the members for actuating the members, the eccentrics being so constructed and arranged as to'cause simultaneous movement of the members toward each other. through distances inversely proportional to their relative masses.

3. A press comprising a frame, supporting members slidably mounted in the frame for movement in a heightwise direction, a beam and a bed respectively secured to the supporting members, a drive shaft, eccentrics upon the drive shaft, and connecting rods extending between the eccentrics and the supporting members for causing relative movements between the beam and the bed in a heightwise direction toward or away from each other through distances inversely proportional to their masses.

4. A press comprising a frame, a plurality of levers pivotally mounted in the frame and having each an extension normally positioned in the same plane, plungers slidably mounted in the frame and supported upon the extensions, a cutting bed positioned upon the plungers, a drive shaft, and a link with means for moving the same connecting the drive shaft with the levers for causing heightwise movement of the bed.

5. A press comprising a frame, a plurality of parallel shafts with their axes extending horizontally of the frame, levers mounted upon the shafts and having free end portions, plungers mounted upon the free ends for sliding movement in the frame, a bed positioned upon the plungers, a drive shaft, and means operatively connecting the drive shaft and the levers for rocking the levers about their supporting shafts to cause movement of the bed in a heightwise direction.

6. A press comprising a frame, slides mounted for movement heightwise of the frame, a shaft extending between and connecting the slides, screw shafts carried by the slides, a cutting bed mounted upon the shafts for adjustment heightwise of the frame, a drive shaft, eccentrics carried by the drive shaft, and connecting rods extending between the eccentrics and the shaft connecting the guides for causing heightwise movement of the bed.

7. A press comprising a frame, a presser member and a cutting bed member mounted for movement heightwise of the frame toward or away from each other, a drive shaft carried by the frame, a plurality of laterally spaced eccentrics secured to the drive shaft with their high parts extending on one side of the shaft, connections between the eccentrics and the presser member for reciprocating the latter, a plurality of eccentrics on the shaft closely adjacent to the firstmentioned eccentrics and having their high parts extending on the opposite side of the shaft, and connections between the second-mentioned eccentrics and the cutting bed member for reciprocating the latter simultaneously with the reciprocation of the presser member.

WILLIAM H. NUTT. 

